I checked and there is no B so what mike is saying is true to this snare. It does have there smaller round knob muffler. That along with the weight and not being magnetic are what leads to me my conclusion that it is brass. Along with the lack of pitting.

Everything I know is a lie! Sorry everyone, spreading bad info is something I hate. I learn new things every day.

So, what you're saying Mike, is that since all Ludwig chrome snares during this time period were brass, there would be no need to stamp it to differentiate the shell from aluminum? That makes sense.

i'm sure ive misstated before as well. like you, I try not to though.

I just went and rechecked what I have and that seems to be the case. no b stamp on the early 60's keystones.

mike

Thank you both for your help, no problem on the misstatement. As long as we all benefit from testing theories then I'm a happy camper.

If anyone here has the weight of a non brass shell in this size I would love to compare the weights of the shells.

I noticed an odd thing earlier today. On the side of one of the lugs, nearer to the shell engraved very small is a 5 figure number "52***" I assume that it was maybe a number for the original owner to track it. But it doesn't fit with what I've seen owners do before. Usually the last name, phone number, street address is engraved. Is this maybe something from the factory?

At the risk of being wrong again... :)

Engravings were usually done by a school that owned the drum. But it could've been a private owner too for whatever reason. The factory, at the time, didn't give a flying flip about serial numbers.

Thats what I figured. It would make sense for a school to have been the original purchaser of a SuperSensitive for their concert bands. The person I purchased it from bought it used around 76, so who knows where it was for the 13-16 years prior.

Zeta, a magnet won't stick to the ludalloy either, so you would want to check for some other signs. The inner flange of the shell should curl back toward the shell wall.

Thank you Ron.

I just checked and it does curl toward the shell. I thought it was odd when I first noticed.

So the signs it has of being brass are:

Curled inner flange

Not magnetic

Very heavy

Round knob muffler

Proper age

Anything else I need to check?

I think you're good, man. But like Ron said, magnetism doesn't matter – magnets don't stick to the non-brass supra either.

But magnets DO stick to steel rims – so that's a good way to tell if the rims are COB. COB rims are great and expensive and hard to find.

Here is one of the best explanations of the difference between the COB and Ludalloy shells that I have found, probably a forum member. The imperial lugs are a good way to tell as well, the older imperials have a shorter smaller inner section.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajWv4NoQQac"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajWv4NoQQac[/ame]